Vessel-propelling mechanism.



J. A. CASHEL.

VESSEL PROPELLING MECHANISM APPLICATION FILED AUG.19. I915.

Patented May 1, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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WM neowo J. A. CASHEL.

VESSEL PROPELLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATXON man Aums. x915.

1,224,274. Patented May1,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wanes) JOHN A..CASHEL, OF VJOR'II-IINGTON', MINNESOTA.

VESSEL-PROPELLING MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN- A. GAsHnL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worthington, in the county of Nobles and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vessel-Propelling Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for propelling boats by means of paddles or oars which are reciprocated longitudinally at each side of the vessel by a suitable power apparatus or engine.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an apparatus which may be readily attached to the sides of any boat and which is easily controlled and may be readily reversed in operation without reversing the power or motor mechanism.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form of my invention, Figure 1, is a top plan view showing the manner of attaching my propelling mechanism to a boat; Fig. 2, is a transverse section on the line 2.2 of Fig. 1, showing the propeller paddle or blade in elevation; Fig. 3, is a vertical section on the line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, is a detail perspective, partly in section, showing the manner of connecting the shutter-reversing mechanism with the paddle-frame; Figs. 5 and 6, are detail views of certain parts; Fig. 7, is a perspective view of the friction drive connection between the main power shaft and the reciprocating piston of the paddle or oar; Fig. 8, is a top plan view, partly broken away, of the reversing mechanism; Fig. 9, is a vertical section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 and Fig. 10, is a diagrammatic view, showing in side elevation, the friction clutch mechanism.

My propelling mechanism is of the type in which the paddles or oars have one or more shutters or gates which are held in operative position to push against the water during the power stroke, but swing backwardly into trailing or feathering position upon the return stroke, so that they offer practically no resistance.

In my preferred form, illustrated in Figs. 2 to 6, the blade or paddle comprises a rectangular frame of diamond-shaped bars 2, with a central transverse bar 4, dividing the inclosed space into upper and lower gate openings. The lower edge or angle of the upper frame bar 2, and of the central bar 4, are cut away to provide room for the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1917.

Application filed August 19, 1915. Serial No. 46,304.

hinges of the shutters or gates 5, 5', which swing on the pintle rods 6, 6. The diamond-shaped bars offer little resistance to the water and by cutting away the edges to form recesses for the gate hinges, the latter offer very little additional resistance.

The upper edge or angle of the central bar and of the lower frame bar are cut away, as illustrated in Fig. 3, to make room for the rocking-rods 8, 8, which carry the stops 9, '9, against which the lower edges of the gates or shutters may strike. These rods project through one end of the frame and carry gears 10, 10, which are interconnected by the rod 12, carrying the worm 14, and gear 15, whereby they may be simultaneously operated.

The manner in which power is transmitted to the oars or paddl'es from the engine or motor power mechanism, is illustrated in Figs. 1, 7 and 10. The blade or paddle is secured-by means of the extension 4, of the central bar of the frame, to a piston 20, which slides within a cylinder 21, bolted or otherwise secured to the side of the vessel, the piston being slotted along the outer side to permit the reciprocating movement of the bar 4 The ends of the cylinder are preferably closed and provided with ports 23, to permit the gradual escape of water, so that there may be a cushioning action to check the motion of the piston at each end of its stroke.

The piston-rod 25, eXtending from the piston 20, is secured to a friction member 27 that is engaged by the friction clutch of the power mechanism. The opposite ends of the friction member 27, are provided with cross-heads 28, which slide upon guides 29, secured at one end to the cylinder head and carried at the other end by a bracket 30.

The power-shaft 35, is driven in any suitable manner, as by an engine or motor 36, g

and transmits power through the gears 37, 38, and intermediate worm-shafts 40, 41, to the friction drums 43, 45, which cooperate respectively with the idler drums 44, and 46, to form oppositely rotating clutch devices. The idler clutch rolls, 44, 46, are carried by a stationary frame 47 secured to the side of the vessel by a bracket 42, and the driving clutch rolls 43, 45, are mounted in bars 48, suspended from the frame by the toggle-links 50, 51, the central points of the toggles being connected by bars 53.

' When the toggles 50, are straight or rigid and the toggles 51 are loose or bent, the bar 48 will be inclined or tilted in the direction to cause the rolls 43, 44, to separate and the rolls 45, 46, to approach and tightly clutch the friction member 27 between them, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 10, thereby driving the member 27 and the attached piston 20, in the direction of the arrows. By straightening the toggles 51, and simultaneously bending or loosening toggles 50, the rolls 45, 46, will be separated and the rolls 43, 44, will be brought into clutching engagement with the friction member 27, thereby causing'the piston to move in the opposite direction.

For the purpose of automatically shifting the position of the toggles at each end of the stroke or travel of the piston, I place stops 56, 56, at points to be engaged alternately by the shifting bar 53. These stops may be in the form of disks mounted upon a rod 57, and be cushioned by springs 58. By means of this reversely acting clutch mechanism the pistons upon opposite sides of the boat carrying the oar-blades or paddles are given a reciprocating motion while the motor or engine-shaft operates constantly in the same direction.

By means of the oar mechanism previously described the pivoted shutters or gates 5, 5, strike and press against the stops 9, 9, in one direction, so that the oar or paddle may push against the water on the power-stroke, while swinging freely outward, parallel with the direction of motion upon the return-stroke and offering practically no resistance to the water.

To change the direction of propulsion, it is only necessary to reverse the action of the pivoted gates or shutters, so that they will resist and swing freely in the opposite manner from the previous operation, so that the former power-stroke becomes the feathering or return stroke and the previous feathering stroke becomes the power-stroke. To effect this reversal in the operation of the shutters it will be obvious that it will only be necessary to oscillate the rods 8 and 8, so that the angle-bar stops 9, 9, will face in the opposite direction. The manner in which this may be accomplished is illustrated in Figs. 2, 4, 8 and 9. The rods 8 and 8, are interconnected by the rod 12, and connected gears and worms, and one end of the rod 8, passes through an aperture in the piston 20, and carries a worm 60, meshing with a gear 61, carried by the rod 63. The latter eX- tends through the hollow piston 20, and piston-rod 25, and carries at its opposite end a gear 65, in mesh with a gear 67, secured to a short shaft 68, passing through the wall of the piston-rod and carrying a gear 69, upon its outer end. A rack-bar 70, carried by a pair of toggle links 71, 71, may be raised into the path of the gear 69, at any time by means of a crank 73, actuated by a hand-lever 75.

W hen it is desired to reverse the direction of propulsion, the rack-bar 70, is raised for an instant until the gear 69, is engaged in its travel, and through the connected gears and rod 63, causes the rods 8 and 8, to oscillate and reverse the position of the stops 9, 9. This reverses the swinging movements of the paddle-gates 5, 5, with the consequent alternation of the power and feathering strokes.

My improvements in propelling mechanism, wherein the paddle frames are secured rigidly tothe reciprocating piston greatly simplifies the construction over prior constructions in which it was necessary to reverse the position of the entire frame in order to reverse the action of the pivoted gates or shutters.

My method of transmitting power from the power-shaft to the reciprocating piston or paddle-carrying frame by means of friction clutch mechanism enables me to secure a long stroke with a very simple construction of the reciprocating parts.

I have described in detail the particular apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings for the purpose of disclosing one embodiment of my invention, but various changes can be made therein within the scope of my claims and without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim r 1. Vessel propelling mechanism, comprismg a power shaft, a reciprocating device, a paddle secured to the latter having'pivoted shutters, and friction driving mechanism actuated by said power-shaft and having oppositely rotating parts adapted to alternately move said device in opposite directions. 2. Vessel propelling mechanism, comprismg a power shaft, a reciprocating device, a paddle secured to the latter having pivoted shutters, means for controlling the direction in which said shutters may swing, and friction driving mechanism actuated by said power-shaft and having oppositely rotating parts adapted to alternately move said device in opposite directions.

3. Vessel propelling mechanism, comprising a power shaft, a casing, a piston operable therein, a paddle secured to said piston, a piston-rod secured to said piston and having a friction surface, friction driving mechanism having oppositely rotating parts actuated by said shaft, and means for alternately engaging said rotating parts with said friction surface to thereby impart a reciprocating motion thereto.

4. Vessel propelling mechanism, comprising arec-iprocating device adapted to carry a paddle or oar, friction clutch mechanism having oppositely rotatable clutch rollers,

to constitute a pair of clutch members, and means for alternately straightening said toggles to thereby clutch said device between 15 one pair and then the other pair of said clutch members, and means for oppositely rotating said pairs of rollers.

'In testimony whereof I aflix my signa ture in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. OASHEL.

and means for engaging said rollers alter nately with said device to thereby impart a reciprocating motion to said paddle.

5. Vessel propelling mechanism, comprising a reciprocating device adapted to carry a paddle Or oar-blade, friction clutch mechanism comprising a stationary frame, rollers pivotally mounted therein, a swinging bar suspended from said frame by toggle links at opposite ends thereof, rollers pivotally Witnesses: mounted in said bar, each adapted to 00- J. J. HARPER, operate with one of said first-named rollers L. M. HARPER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

